DepEd backs higher teacher pay but wants ‘appropriate amount’

The Department of Education (DepEd) says on Friday, February 16, 2024, that it is all for increasing the salary of public school teachers but would want to determine its “appropriate amount.” (File photo from the Agence-France Presse)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it supports increasing the salary of public school teachers but wants to determine its “appropriate amount.”

According to DepEd deputy spokesperson Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas, they are awaiting a World Bank study to determine proper teacher pay rise without disrupting the agency’s staffing pattern.

“We are not opposed to a salary increase, but we need to consider that it’s the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] that determines our fiscal pay and that the department has a large bureaucracy,” Bringas said in an interview over AM Radyo 630.

“So that’s what we need to see. If our staffing pattern won’t be disrupted when we have such an increase, we have to look at it in an objective manner,” he added.

The DepEd official’s statements were a reaction to a bill filed in the House of Representatives seeking a P50,000 minimum monthly salary for teachers.

In filing the bill, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said they were aiming to close the gap between teachers’ salaries and the cost of living, as well as address the distortion created by the doubling of entry-level pay of military and uniformed personnel.

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According to Bringas, DepEd has already engaged with the World Bank to conduct the study even before the wage hike bill was filed in the House.

“Prior to the filing of the bill in Congress na-engage na talaga natin ‘yung World Bank para i-study kung ano ‘yung percentage of increase na pwedeng ibigay considering the world numbers,” he said.

“Before filing the bill in Congress, we have engaged the World Bank to study the percentage of increase that can be given considering the world numbers.”

“So that’s what the World Bank is doing together with us. They’re just asking us for more data so their study can be more comprehensive,” he added.

Bringas assured public school teachers that the DepEd would continue to advocate additional benefits for them and that it had already submitted favorable position papers supporting bills to improve their salaries and other perks.